Tough Love
by Riya.Bell
Summary: Does Horo have the chance to tell Ren how he really feels? Will his feelings be returned?
1. Chapter 1

Tough Love

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing of Shaman King, no matter how much I want to!

**Warning**: Contains Yaoi, and future sexual reference.

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Chapter 1

Azure blue hair swayed lightly in the gentle breeze. Eighteen year old Horokeu Usui leaned back on the park bench, and looked up to the summer skies. According to the rest of them, he was in one _"those"_ moods again. These moods usually involved going missing for hours, and not returning to the house until late in the night. It was all down to jealousy, really. It had been a few years since the end of the Shaman Tournament, and he was now currently living in Funbari. He lived with the rest of his friends with the exception of Ren, who chose to move back to China. Horo counted Ren lucky, as he didn't have to to put up with the "wicked witch" who ordered them around the house like a bunch of slaves.

Horo sighed incoherently, and pushed himself off the seat. He had come to terms with his sexuality many years ago, and he lusted for and loved a particular shaman. However, he knew his feelings would never be returned. He could only imagine the pain of rejection, and just thinking about it was painful enough. For that reason, Horo had turned his attentions to others, and had a string of one night stands with many different men. No-one could compare to his love, but could just provide him with temporary feeling of satisfaction.

He had the same plan for tonight, he quickly glanced to his watch and found it much to early to hit the pubs. He sighed, maybe it would be better to drink at the house. Horo then shook the thought out of his head. The others were against his "activities" enough already, and Yoh always held the disappointed look in his eye. Horo would usually shrug it off, he knew Yoh wouldn't understand, Horo even accused Yoh of the current situation. After all, Yoh was still keeping contact with _him_, _he_ would receive letters, _he _would receive phone calls, and _knew_ how _he_ was feeling. He longed to be in Yoh's position, he wanted to be the lucky one. Horo clenched his fists tightly, unrequited love left a bitter taste.

Horo felt a tap on the shoulder, which alerted him that he was no longer alone, he turned around and came face to face with him. It was Yoh. Horo rolled his eyes and looked back to the tree that head been staring at.

"What is it now, Yoh?" Horo asked in the same old bored tone.

Yoh smiled sheepishly before sitting down next to Horo, "You're not gonna come home blind drunk again, and sleep with some random, are you?"

Horo shrugged carelessly before replying, "Maybe.. depends if I get lucky."

Yoh shook his head, disappointed once again, at his friends stupid behaviour, "Horo.." Yoh started before taking a pause, trying to find the right words, "You know.. this will never get anywhere.. why can't you-"

Horo furrowed his brows before interrupting Yoh, "Why can't I what? You're not going to give me the same old drabble I've heard so many times Yoh.. I'm telling you, I'm young this is what I do, you don't say anything about Hao's activities.."

"Hao's different.." Yoh started.

"What? Because he's not gay?! How is he any different, this is practically discrimination!?"

"No Horo," Yoh pulled became stern, and his eyes darkened as he faced Horo, "He's not the one doing this to hide his true feelings for someone else."

Horo's eyes widened slightly, "That's not true."

Yoh sighed, he had lost faith in his friend, but this was the life he had chosen. He shook his head and looked to Horo, "I'm not here to argue. I just wanted to tell you, that tomorrow we're having a reunion party. I would have said sooner, but you were away from the house.. I figured you'd be out here."

_That means he would be there_, Horo looked to Yoh and simply nodded, "Cool.. so do you know who's coming?"

Yoh pulled his trademark smile, "Well, of course. Everyone will be there, even Ren, he's flying over on the morning flight, so you better be up."

_Of course he would know_, Horo nodded, "Yeah.. that sound great." _Maybe I should just have a night in after all. _

Yoh stood up to leave and looked down to Horo, "Have fun tonight," The brunette then pulled his trusty orange headphones before walking back towards Funbari.

Horo sighed and looked up to the sky once again, _What should I do? He'll be there.. it's been a long time_. Horo let out a long breath, he no longer wanted to go out. His mind was too clouded and filled with worries. Tomorrow would be a day to remember.

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**AU: Well this is the fire chapter. It's rather short, but I hope you get the basic idea of it! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the late update, I've been rather busy recently, but this is a short chapter, I'll eventually get into it. I hope this is okay so far!**

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Chapter 2

The following day, Funbari Onsen was filled with voices of overly excited Shaman, celebrating their reunion. Ren Tao was the last to arrive. His family limousine pulled up outside the Inn, and Ren stepped out, and heaved out his luggage after him and continued to haul it up the path. He took a moment to stand outside the Inn to reflect on the memories of his younger years, and the days that he had spent there. It had been a while, and he didn't know what to expect. Yoh had kept him updated on important events, and provided him with updates on how they were all keeping.

Ren had spent most of his teenage year's finishing school in China, and he was a keen learner. He held the responsibility of taking over the Tao business, and it was important for him to get the best grades, and get a good degree at the end of university. Ren was currently in the process of applying for universities, and was keen on learning in Japan. He was hopeful that he would get accepted in Japan, so he would be closer to Yoh and a certain someone. Although this certain someone, had not kept in contact with Ren over the years which made Ren doubt whether he should even keep his heart set on the acceptance from the university.

Ren hesitantly entered the Inn, and was immediately greeted by his friends. He nearly lost his footing when he received a glomp from Chocolove, who was speaking far too fast for Ren to even understand. Yoh stood there, with his trademark carefree smile, and waved to Ren casually, "Hey there buddy, long time no speak? Huh?" Yoh then walked over to Ren and gave him friendly hug, once Chocolove had finally released Ren.

A small smile formed on Ren's face, from being overwhelmed with the friendly gestures of his friends, "Good to see that you're all keeping well," He managed to reply, and gave Yoh a light pat on the back and pulled away from him, and picked up his luggage.

"You still have your old room." Yoh smiled and signalled down the corridor. Ren nodded and looked around the crowd to see if he could notice that mop of blue hair, but he seemed to be nowhere in sight. Ren sighed, and then took his luggage down to his room. Ren opened the door, and looked around. The room was still bland, but it hadn't changed much since his last visit. Ren set his luggage down in the corner. The Inn obviously hadn't had many customers, and Ren could only imagine how this would have angered Anna. That woman was determined in making the Inn a success.

Ren's mind soon delved back into the thoughts of his certain someone. His blue-haired, loud, obnoxious friend. Although Ren, secretly hoped that his friendship with the Ainu could develop into a new type of relationship. A relationship that Ren was not familiar with. He had denied these sorts of feelings for many years, and tried to squish them out of his mind, he knew that a relationship with a man would be frowned upon in his family, as it was his duty to continue the Tao line, and his parents had always stressed the importance of this.

"_But they always have Jun," _he thought to himself, as he lay down in the bed, _"What will happen during my stay here?"_ Ren closed his eyes, and lets on an exasperated sigh. Tonight will be an eventful night.

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**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it so far. It's just a short introduction to Ren, arriving. I'll get into the juicer plots later! Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, sorry it's been a while. I've been rather busy lately, and stuck for idea's, and writers block, but here's chapter 3. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review! **

**Warning: Contains Yaoi. If you don't like it, Don't read it!  
**

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Chapter 3

Ren's previous thoughts were proven to be correct. It was an eventful night, and just like all good friends like to do at a good old reunion, was party it up. The stereo system was pumping out the latest dance tracks whilst Joco and Lyserg had hit to the centre of the room to dance it out in their drunken splendour. Ren heaved out a heavy sigh, and sat himself in the corner of the room and watch his friends humiliate themselves. He wasn't a party animal himself, and was still holding the same can of beer that Hao had handed to him earlier. The tin was still half full, and the drink wasn't up to his taste, he would have rather something more sophisticated or just stick to the safe choice in drink, milk or tea.

There was also the other factor that had been bugging him the whole day, he still hadn't even spoken or even seen his blue-haired friend. It wasn't like him to avoid him, but they hadn't spoke in a while. The Chinese boy squeezed his hand on the can, causing it to crush a little. The whole situation was aggravating beyond belief, he just wanted answers.

"Where are you Horokeu Usui?" Ren let out a breath, and his eyes slowly shifted across the room, to notice his friends around in a circle, but one of the voices stood out amongst the rest, and it was none other than him, Horo Usui. Ren clenched his fist tightly around his beer, causing some to spill across the armchair, before quickly rising from his seat and marched over to him.

Horo barley had the time to register what was happening before being grabbed by the arm, and forced to face the angry Tao. His glare was harder than usual, but his golden eyes gave away a different kind of emotion that he hadn't seen in the Tao before, but he couldn't place what it was.

"Where have you been?" The boy snapped, his eyes fixed upon the Ainu.

Horo looked back at Ren surprised from his outburst, he never expected Ren to even notice that he hadn't been around, but his smile returned again, "Just about, you know.."

It wasn't the type of answer Ren had been expecting and he wasn't quite sure on how to reply without giving any of his feelings away, but he kept his glare fixed on the Ainu. He had to keep up his usual façade. It would tarnish the Tao name, if one was to be homosexual. He knew how much it would enrage his father, and he'd rather not see that side of him again.

"_But why am I here?" _The Tao thought to himself. Horo was his soul purpose of coming back to Funbari, and Yoh had clearly stated in his letters that Horo was in fact gay. This was quite a surprise for Ren, Horo just didn't look the type. He wouldn't be surprised if Lyserg turned out to be gay, he was quite a feminine boy.

"_Earth to Ren." _

Ren broke out of his daze and found Horo looking at him quizzically. A light tint of red spread over his face once he realised how close the proximity he was to the Ainu. Horo had moved up closer to him and waved his hand infront of Ren's face, "Are you okay?"

"Of course, I'm fine!" He practically spat before turning away from Horo, and returning to his chair in the corner, _"This isn't what I expected."_ Ren picked up beer can once again, and downed the remaining liquid. He cringed at the bitter taste, and crushed the can in his hand before tossing it to the side.

"So, what did you expect?" Ren turned to face Hao Asakura, the one and only to intrude his thoughts. His eyes narrowed to slits and fixed his glare upon Hao. His glare was like his defensive front. It made people back off, it stopped them from asking questions, but this time, it didn't seem to have that effect.

"It's none of your business, and I would much rather that you kept out of my head."

"Hm, no. This is far too interesting, tell me." The older Asakura, leaned closer to Ren, grinning down menacingly to him, "I think I could put the puzzle together myself though."

The Tao quickly rose from the chair, with his fist in a tight ball at his side, "I said, it's none of your business. Now, will you just leave me alone?"

"Hey, hey now. Guys, this is a party. We're all supposed to be getting along." The two turned to see the younger Asakura make his way over to them, "Lets just stop this fighting." Yoh's eyes darted to the pair, and Hao let out a sigh before moving away from Ren.

"Fine, he's no fun anyway," Hao turned, and swished his hair over his shoulder dramatically before making his way towards the kitchen for more drinks. Yoh let out a soft sigh, and returned his attention to Ren.

"Sorry about him, he never changes."

"Hm, I still don't see why you took pity on him. He doesn't deserve it."

"Now Ren, lets not go back to that. That's all in the past remember," Yoh flashed his trademark smile, and chuckled a little, "It feels just like old times."

"I don't know whether that's a good thing."

"It is, we get to catch up with everyone, and have a great party at the same time," The brunette patted Ren lightly on the shoulder, "It's good to have you back, buddy."

A small smile curled at Ren's lips as he looked to his friend. Yoh was his first and probably most closest friend that he ever had. He had been the one to save him from his old life, and change him into the person that he was today. In the past, he never imagined going to a party full of people who called him their friend. Ren was indeed, thankful to Yoh.

For all those reasons, it made Horo Usui jealous. The Ainu crunched the empty tin of beer that was in his hand as he watched the pair from across the room. He could feel the atmosphere in the room grow tense, he saw the smile on Ren's face, he saw the way Yoh touched him. He knew that he had nothing on Yoh. This party was becoming harder to bare than he expected. Their flirting was unreal, he couldn't understand why Anna hadn't taken notice already. That her fiancé was gay, that he fancied Ren.

He needed out, away from all this. He needed a way to vent. As he was about to make his quick exit, a green-haired boy, danced infront of him, swinging his hips from side to side.

"Dance with me Horo," He quickly took a hold of Horo's hands, and placed them on his his, "Feel the beat," The greenette slurred.

Horo slowly started to move to the rhythm of the music, and danced his way to the centre of the room with the English boy. His eyes kept daring across the room towards Ren and Yoh, whilst Lyserg's moves slowly became more suggestive. He grinned his bottom up against Horo's crotch and moved his hips in time with the music. The heat in the room slowly began to rise, and Horo moved his hands down onto Lysergs hips, and he met those lustful green eyes.

It was at that moment, when Ren's attention had retuned to the centre of the room, and it was at that moment, he saw it.

The kiss.


End file.
